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Moments with You Couples Devotional 10/12

I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I. Send me!" ISAIAH 6:8

There can be only one Lord in this relationship, or it just doesn't work. Any other combination of play-callers in this game plan results in confusion, distraction and disobedience.

Non-negotiable Number Six: Serve God, Not Self

The Bible exhorts us to become "slaves" or "bond-servants" of Jesus Christ (see Ephesians 6:6; Acts 16:17; 2 Corinthians 4:5). We are all slaves of some master.

If that master is sin, we will be enslaved to evil. If that master is self, we will be in bondage to our pride. It is Jesus Christ who gives us the power to break free from these masters and find life in Him as our true Master.

Barbara and I have written on a number of occasions about a document we created in our first year of marriage in 1972. It was our first Christmas together and we decided that before we gave anything to each other, we would give God what we called "The Title Deed to Our Lives."

Each of us sat down and wrote out a document that signed over all our rights, all our possessions and all our dreams of what we'd ever hope to have.

We gave ourselves as fully and completely to God as we could at the time. We became bond-slaves of Jesus Christ. I cannot begin to tell you how liberating that decision was.

Nearly 20 years later, we opened the envelopes that contained our "Title Deeds." I laughed as I read back over all that we gave God on that day. What we gave Him on that day could hardly be considered a loss when we compared what He had given us as His bond-slaves. I cannot imagine what our lives would have looked like if we had chosen a lesser master.

Serve God, not self. When He is Lord, you have the best Master on Earth.

DISCUSS

What would it be like for you to sign a "Title Deed of Our Lives"? What would you give up? What would you gain?

PRAY

Pray that God will make you willing to be willing to be His bond-slaves.